It all worked for the Detroit Lions quarterback on Thursday in the 40-10 win over the Green Bay Packers.

“We lost two games going into this one that could have separated us,’’ Stafford said. “It didn’t happen. The past is the past. We had a five-game season coming into this game. To do what we had to do to hold our spot in our division and move forward and play well.

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“We hadn’t played our best game. We still probably haven’t. Turn the ball over four times and score 40 you know, only give up a handful of first downs, that’s a good game,’’ the quarterback added.

Stafford was 22 of 35 for 330 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions. He was sacked just once.

He connected with eight different receivers — three of them for touchdowns.

Just before the Lions were walking out of the locker room prior to the game, Stafford said he told them, “’This is my favorite time of the week when the game comes, because talk is cheap. And now it’s time to do something about it.’ Our guys responded in the way, not only how they got right after the passer, how they stopped the run, but just the poise, all that kind of stuff when we’re not having penalties. We were just getting after it and playing good old-fashioned football.’’

He said the defense — which held the Packers to 126 total yards — took pressure off the offense.

“People are going to make mistakes,’’ Stafford said. “You have to pick the other side up ad that’s something we did a good job of.’’

Obviously his mood was so much better than after Sunday’s loss to Pittsburgh.

“It’s great. It’s a step in the right direction for us,’’ Stafford said. “We have to continue on this path. I’m sure the turkey will taste better and all that. I’m just proud of our team and the way we played for four quarters and didn’t let anything derails us. We have to keep doing that.’’

About the Author

Paula Pasche is a longtime sports writer for The Oakland Press and blogs at http://oplions.blogspot.com/. Author of book, "100 Things Lions Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die." Follow on Tout and Twitter @paulapasche. Reach the author at paula.pasche@oakpress.com
or follow Paula on Twitter: @PaulaPasche.